Pathfinder - The Summoner Handbook

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handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.

Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances

Green: Good options.

Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.

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Introduction

The Summoner casts spells about as well as a Bard, but has a very strict emphasis
on summoning and conjuration. The Summoner's big draw is the Eidolon, sort of an
a la carte pet which you get to build with a system of points. Where the Hunter uses
an Animal Companion and trains/buffs them to their liking, the Summoner gets to build
their pet from the ground up, and it can be and do whatever you want. Despite being
limited to 6th-level spells, the versatility of the Eidolon allows the Summoner to fill
a huge variety of roles in the party.

Like any character with a pet, Summoners have excellent action economy. They can
easily engage multiple targets or address multiple challenges at the same time. However,
the Summoner's emphasis on the Eidolon often leaves the summoner fairly useless at
the back of the field while the Eidolon does all of the fighting.

Summoner Class Features

Hit Points: d8 hit points is bad, but it's higher than
any other back-row caster.

Base Attack Bonus: 2/3 BAB for some reason.

Saves: Good Will saves, but little dependence on any
ability which contributes to saves. You will need to make a point to buff your saves
or you will be very vulnerable.

Proficiencies: Simple weapons and light armor. Expect
to use a crossbow between spells.

Skills: 2+ skills and Intelligence is a dump stat, which
is a shame because the Summoner gets access to all Knowledge skills for some reason.

Spells: Summoners are 2/3 spontaneous casters. Their
spell list includes a lot of fantastic buffs and a few good utility options.

Summon Monster (Sp): The Summoner's Summon Monster
ability gives them access to Summon Monster as though they were a full caster, but
you can't use it while your Eidolon is summoned. The durations are extended to one
minute per level instead of one round per level, which is a great way to get some
extra use out of summons which fill roles which your Eidolon can't.

Bond Senses (Su): This would be great if the duration
weren't so pitifully short.

Shield Ally (Ex): This is excellent if you plan to ride
your Eidolon, but you generally shouldn't be in melee with your Eidolon because the
Summoner is very squishy.

Maker's Call (Ex): If you get ambushed, or if enemies get
past your party's fron line, you can use this to bring your Eidolon over to murder the
problem.

Transposition (Su): Similar to Maker's Call, but even
better if your Eidolon is somewhere safe for you to be.

Aspect (Su): This is a cool way to get yourself some
nice defenses or something. Unfortunately Fast Healing is out of reach.

Greater Shield Ally (Su): Nice if you have other melee
characters in the party, or if you're letting someone else ride your Eidolon.

Life Bond (Su): This will save your life if you get
yourself into a bad position.

Merge Forms (Su): Rarely useful, and the duration is
very short.

Greater Aspect (Su): Time to get that fast healing!

Twin Eidolon (Su): Because you get to keep all of your
own feats and class features, you are a better Eidolon than your Eidolon. Unfortunately
you spent 19 levels building yourself to work while you weren't an Eidolon, so you
probably won't get a lot of help from your own Feats.

Abilities

The Summoner's abilities are very strange. Because the Eidolon dominates the
Summoner's build, very little is actually important to the Summoner.

Str: Dump to 7.

Dex: Essential for AC, saves, and ranged attacks.

Con: Good for hit points, but not super important
because you have a big scary Eidolon to stand in front of you.

Int: Only needed for skill ranks, and Summoners only get
2+, so you can dump to 7 and still only lose one skill rank. If you want to pick up
Knowledge skills, invest a bit in Intelligence, but don't go too crazy. You're not a
Wizard.

Wis: Only needed for saves, and Will is the Summoner's
only good save.

Cha: The Summoner's spellcasting ability. With only
6th-level spells and very few spells which require saving throws, it's easy for the
Summoner to get by on 16 Charisma. More will get you additional bonus spells, but
as a spontaneous caster you already have a whole mess of spells per day.

25 Point Buy

20 Point Buy

15 Point Buy

Elite Array

Str: 7

Dex: 16

Con: 14

Int: 12

Wis: 12

Cha: 16

Str: 7

Dex: 14

Con: 14

Int: 12

Wis: 12

Cha: 16

Str: 7

Dex: 14

Con: 12

Int: 10

Wis: 12

Cha: 16

Str: 8

Dex: 14

Con: 13

Int: 10

Wis: 12

Cha: 15

Races

Charisma bonuses are nice but not strictly necessary. Because the Summoner should
generally be in the back row avoiding attention, small size and bonuses to Dexterity
are excellent.

Dwarf: The Charisma penalty is easy to overcome because
the Summoner doesn't need a huge pile of Charisma, but the Dwarf's abilities are
largely wasted by the Summoner. The Dwarf favored class bonus adds a bit of Natural
Armor to your Eidolon, which can be a nice buff, but doesn't make the Dwarf any more
appealing.

Elf: The Constitution penalty is annoying, but hardly
a deal breaker. The Elf's bonuses to Dexterity and Intelligence are both usable, and
the Elf racial bonuses to spellcaster can both help the Summoner. The Elf favored
class bonus allows you to reduce the Eidolon's one-minute summoning time, but doesn't
specify what happens when you hit 0 rounds. In theory, you may be able to summon
your Eidolon as a free action, which would be a fun trick in combat.

Gnome: Small, and bonuses to two of the Summoner's most
important abilities. The Gnome's favored class bonus adds hit points to your Eidolon,
which is especially nice if your Eidolon is serving as the party's Defender.

Half-Elf: The Half-Elf is the best Summoner entirely
based on their favored class bonus, which adds additional Evolution points at 1/4
per level. This breaks the usual rule of 6 levels equaling one feat/talent, which
means it's especially potent.

Half-Orc: The Flexible ability bonus is the only thing
that the Half-Orc brings to the Summoner. The Half-Orc's favored class bonus adds hit
points to your Eidolon, which is especially nice if your Eidolon is serving as the
party's Defender, and you can take the Human favored class bonus to add skill ranks
to Eidolon instead.

Halfling: Similar to the Gnome, but stealthier and the
bonus to Dexterity places more emphasis on offense than survivability. The Halfling
favored class bonus adds skill ranks to the Eidolon, but skills are rarely the Eidolon's
strong suit. The Halfling's Outrider alternate racial trait makes them a good option
if you plan to ride your Eidolon.

Human: Always a fantastic choice, and the bonus skill
rank allows you to dump Intelligence to 7 and still get two ranks. The Human favored
class bonus allows you to add hit points or skill ranks to Eidolon, offering some
nice options.

Skills

Fly (Dex): One rank is enough.

Handle Animal (Cha): Worthless. Eidolons don't learn tricks.

Knowledge (all) (Int): With only 2+ skill ranks
and poor Intelligence, the Summoner has a lot of trouble making use of their
access to all Knowledge skills. Put one rank in every important skill for the
+3 bonus, then focus on one or two important ones.

Linguistics (Int): Cast Tongues.

Ride (Dex): Essential if you plan to ride your Eidolon.

Spellcraft (Int): Great for identifying spells
and magic items, but Summoners tend to have poor intelligence.

Use Magic Device (Cha): With high Charisma and very
few built-in combat options. UMD can offer the Summoner a lot of great ways to
help in combat.

Feats

Mounted Combat: If you plan to ride your Eidolon,
the Mounted Combat tree can be very effective. However, you will need to spend
feats to gain access to the Lance, and without bonus feats it will take a while
for you to reach Spirited Charge.

Spell Focus (Conjuration): Very few of the Summoner's
spells require saving throws.

Augment Summoning: This works for the
Summoner's Summon Monster ability, so you can get a ton of value from it.
Unfortunately, it doesn't affect the Eidolon.

Weapons

Light Crossbow: If you don't have a good spell to
cast in a given rough, a Light Crossbow is a solid choice. Deadly Aim can add
some nice damage, and you don't need Strength like you do with a bow.

Lance: Essential for mounted charge builds, but
you need t ospend a feat or take a class dip for proficiency.

Armor

Armor is presented in the order in which you should acquire it, rather than
alphabetical order.

leather: Starting armor.

Mithral Buckler: No ACP, no spell failure, and
cheap to enchant. Every arcane spellcaster should have one.